An Index to My Writing, My Writing Workshops, and All My Writing-Related Pages and Webrings   (whoof)

The real reason I write is because I can’t stop.

Some things I write because one of my Muses grabs the back of my neck or starts tickling my ears or kicking me in the stomach. Some things I write because I want to try something new: sonnets, or concrete poetry, haiku or cinquains or horror stories. Some things I write because I want to create a certain effect: if I ever get someone to spray Coke on their monitor in sudden laughter, or pull their feet up onto the chair in a sudden chill, I will be ever so tickled. Some things I write to share something I’ve learned: I’m compulsive that way. (See the annotated guide to Silverlock, or Anitra Sings Sea Chanteys.) Some things I write to work something out, mentally or emotionally: for self-healing, for problem-solving, for spiritual exploration. Some things I write for the open purpose of public education and persuasion, on behalf of issues and causes I believe in, like ending homelessness, mental health consumer’s rights, or anti-racism.

Some things I write because the other editors at Real Change tell me to.

I grew up in a family where reading and writing were considered normal human activities, and everyone did a lot of both. Poems, stories, letters, editorials — people wrote. A lot of terrible things happened — and we wrote. A lot of wonderful things happened — and we wrote. It was how we survived.

In creativity is our heart and our strength.

I have lost a lot of writing over the years. I’ve lost a lot else, in the cyclones of bipolar cycles and the fogs of depression. But I kept reading. I kept writing. I kept surviving. And since 1995, with the help of some good doctors (like Dr. Mary van Bronkhorst at Country Doctor in Seattle, Hi Mary!) I’ve begun making progress in keeping track of my writing. And a few other things.

These are some of the pages from my journey.

And in all that time writing, I have assembled a fair amount of resources and enjoyed passing them on freely. I now teach classes in writing, computer skills, desktop publishing and webpage publishing, on- and off-line. Or, to more accurately describe it, get people together in workshops, give them some tools, and join in the fun.

I hope you have fun here.